IACC and World Obesity Federation publishes healthy eating guide

A guide created by the IACC in collaboration with other organisations aims at assisting meeting and event planners work towards delegate health and wellbeing.

The trend for personal wellbeing is forecast to grow in 2019, with a marked increase in delegates asking for dietary and allergen information when registering for events. Many planners reported events where more than 50 per cent of the delegates provide personal dietary and allergen requirements during registration.

“Last year, when I asked a room of 200 meeting planners if managing dietary needs was a challenge and 75 per cent or more raised their hands, I knew immediately that we needed to do more as an association and industry,” Mark Cooper, IACC CEO said.

“As we conducted more research, we saw clearly that there was some valuable insights and best practice that if adopted, would help both our planner and venue community. This is just the beginning and we hope that in the near future we will see more training and certifications to support the competent management of dietary needs.”

The Guide to Managing Conference Delegate Dietary Requirements was produced in conjunction with MPI, the Events Industry Council and Thrive Meetings and Events.

Information in the document includes religious requirements and explanations about allergens, as well as offering advice and guidance on taking care of delegate health and wellbeing during events.

According to IACC’s Trends in Nutrition & Delegate Wellbeing study, 79 per cent of meeting planners said they received more dietary requests than two years ago. Just 75 per cent of venues gave staff training on serving people with allergies. Basic nutritional information on menus was provided by 33 per cent of venues.

Tracy Stuckrath, founder and chief connecting officer of Thrive! Meetings & Events said: “I’m excited that IACC has created this guide to help its members and their delegates manage dietary requirements and ensure eat safely in conference centres around the world. This guide provides the steps to get started.”

In January 2019, IACC will offer two webinars, one for venues and the other for meeting planners, highlighting trends in food and beverage.